A peacekeeper with the UN force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was killed and two others were lightly wounded by mortar fire at their position in southeastern Lebanon, the force's command said in an official statement Thursday morning. The incident took place overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, when mortar shells directly hit a UN position near the mission's Spanish base.
The Israel Defense Forces said Thursday that the attack was carried out by Hezbollah. "The IDF identified several launches from the al-Qatrani area carried out by Hezbollah, which fell inside a UNIFIL post," the statement said. "An examination of the launch trajectories clearly shows that the fire was carried out by the Hezbollah terrorist organization."
The Serbian Defense Ministry issued an official statement identifying the soldier killed as Sgt. Milovan Jovanovic, a member of the Serbian contingent stationed in southern Lebanon who was critically wounded in the attack. He received initial medical treatment at the base clinic before being evacuated by medical helicopter to the American University of Beirut Medical Center, where doctors pronounced him dead in the early morning hours.
Two Spanish soldiers were also lightly wounded and are receiving medical treatment.
At this stage, the identity of those who carried out the mortar fire has not yet been officially determined by UNIFIL. The force condemned the incident and said a formal investigation had been opened to establish the exact circumstances that led to the tragic event.
UNIFIL also stressed in its statement that a deliberate attack on peacekeepers constitutes a serious violation of international law, and said the UN demands that all parties in the area respect the safety of the international troops deployed in the sector.
